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~ The controversial 60s figure
tocused his speech on the state of the
nation as he sees it.
By DANIEL ARCHULETA
Courier Staff Writer
The 27 years spent in prison for a crime he says that he
didn't commit and the rage that came along with it were
evident in the speech Geronimo Ji Jaga Pratt gave to a
packed Sexson Auditorium last week.
He said that while in prison he was subject to repeated
beatings and various other forms of abuse, but he remained
diligent in his belief that he was innocent of the murder
charge.
"My mother didn't raise a murderer."
Over the years of his incarceration, he came to believe
that the current system wasn't reforming its inmates, it is
just increasing their sense of disen­franchisement
through wrongful
"My
mother
didn't
ise a
murderer,"
Geronimo
Pratt
treatment.
"It's a shame to see what they are
doing to those young black and brown
prisoners."
Instead of questioning the prac­tices
used to handle inmates, he chose
to question the philosophy behind
the way society views them.
"At what point does a person
become a criminal?" he said.
"You are creating a monster that
you're not going to be able to deal
with," Pratt said of the prison system.
He urged people to look at the situation and access what
can be done to alter its outcome. But he warned, "They
came for me in the morning; they'll be coming for you
tonight. You have to pay attention. The prison-industrial
monster is out of control."
The FBI and other government agencies were among
those whom Pratt blamed for the failure of the revolution­ary
movement which began in the 60s. "Study to see what
length they went to neutralize our movements."
A lack of organization wasn't a contributing factor
behind the eventual end to the radical atmosphere, but it
was the intervention by the government. Extensive sur­veillance
and infiltration by informants were the reasons
that Pratt cited as most detrimental to the cause.
In response to the popular belief that the Black Panthers
and other similar organizations were anti-American, Pratt
said, "We didn't want to overthrow the government, we
ded our own." He added that because the United States
nas the second highest black population in the world they
Please see PRATT, page 6
SCOTT BODE I THE COURIER
P r a t t
became
animated
when he
touched on
his prison
experiences.
QO~-J- AwiGtehro nimo Ji Jaga Pratt

Images are for personal research, scholarly and educational purposes. Contact Shatford Library at archives@pasadena.edu for information about the reproduction of images. The Library assumes no responsibility for the improper use of any image from the Archives.

~ The controversial 60s figure
tocused his speech on the state of the
nation as he sees it.
By DANIEL ARCHULETA
Courier Staff Writer
The 27 years spent in prison for a crime he says that he
didn't commit and the rage that came along with it were
evident in the speech Geronimo Ji Jaga Pratt gave to a
packed Sexson Auditorium last week.
He said that while in prison he was subject to repeated
beatings and various other forms of abuse, but he remained
diligent in his belief that he was innocent of the murder
charge.
"My mother didn't raise a murderer."
Over the years of his incarceration, he came to believe
that the current system wasn't reforming its inmates, it is
just increasing their sense of disen­franchisement
through wrongful
"My
mother
didn't
ise a
murderer,"
Geronimo
Pratt
treatment.
"It's a shame to see what they are
doing to those young black and brown
prisoners."
Instead of questioning the prac­tices
used to handle inmates, he chose
to question the philosophy behind
the way society views them.
"At what point does a person
become a criminal?" he said.
"You are creating a monster that
you're not going to be able to deal
with," Pratt said of the prison system.
He urged people to look at the situation and access what
can be done to alter its outcome. But he warned, "They
came for me in the morning; they'll be coming for you
tonight. You have to pay attention. The prison-industrial
monster is out of control."
The FBI and other government agencies were among
those whom Pratt blamed for the failure of the revolution­ary
movement which began in the 60s. "Study to see what
length they went to neutralize our movements."
A lack of organization wasn't a contributing factor
behind the eventual end to the radical atmosphere, but it
was the intervention by the government. Extensive sur­veillance
and infiltration by informants were the reasons
that Pratt cited as most detrimental to the cause.
In response to the popular belief that the Black Panthers
and other similar organizations were anti-American, Pratt
said, "We didn't want to overthrow the government, we
ded our own." He added that because the United States
nas the second highest black population in the world they
Please see PRATT, page 6
SCOTT BODE I THE COURIER
P r a t t
became
animated
when he
touched on
his prison
experiences.
QO~-J- AwiGtehro nimo Ji Jaga Pratt

Rights Statement

Images are for personal research, scholarly and educational purposes. Contact Shatford Library at archives@pasadena.edu for information about the reproduction of images. The Library assumes no responsibility for the improper use of any image from the Archives.